


March Into the Sun

by Rebellion042



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Gen, This is really indulgent, and of course the mortal parents are here too, seriously though, so how long am I going to keep this up?, some Thaluke also, the world may never know, zombie au's are the best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4085983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebellion042/pseuds/Rebellion042
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Olympus Incorporated at the top of the world, you'd think that the seven children of the Council would have the good life.<br/>You'd think wrong.<br/>Percy is missing, and Annabeth is out of her mind with worry.<br/>Jason is gone yet again, leaving Piper and Leo to drive across the state to find him.<br/>Nico is slipping away, and Hazel doesn't know how to stop it.<br/>And, on top of it all, they somehow have to join forces to defeat the Arisen.<br/>...In four months.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. this world doesn't have to end

**Author's Note:**

> Do I have to have disclaimers?
> 
> Oh well.
> 
> Characters are Rick Riordan's; shout out to Echosmith for being an awesome, inspiring band.
> 
> Alternatively titled: In Which, In Their Search For Jason, Piper And Leo Drive Too Fast And Sing Obnoxiously

Piper dings the bell on Jason's lavender bike as she leads the horde away from their base, her skateboard strapped to her back in lieu of her backpack as she knows she'll have to abandon this place now. She can hear the shuffle of feet behind her and knows she'll have to be faster; thanks her lucky stars that Jason spent a whole week teaching her and Leo tricks. She skids down the aisle full of dusty canned goods and turns again to avoid collision with the fridges that have long since stopped running. Then she pulls a smoke bomb out of her backpack and throws it backwards, hard- her dad always said she had a hell of an arm- and dings the bell in a pattern as she pedals harder. She struggles to remember what Leo taught them of Morse Code, but manages _get supplies, then leave. I'm fine, meet me at the mall._ She hears a clanging sound and prays that Leo doesn't attract the attention of the horde.

_O.K._ , he says. _Car should work. I'll be out soon._

Piper's been slowing down a little as she mentally translates the messages, but the smoke bomb gave her enough time and she hightails it out of the store, grabbing some extra supplies while she's at it, almost dropping the container of instant coffee and the granola bars, snatching a two liter of soda on the way out. She can't believe this place hasn't been raided yet and makes a note of its location- maybe if the horde clears out they can come back. She looks over her shoulder apprehensively to check where the horde is trapped by the metal of the doors; there must be iron somewhere in them. Thank God, she thinks, and pedals away from the store. She's almost about to turn the corner when she hears an engine roar. Piper stops in disbelief and slowly turns around. There sits her best friend, pulling a battered Ford Falcon convertible onto the street from behind the store.

"Oh. My. God." Leo catches up with her easily and cruises so Piper has to walk to stay next to him.

He has huge, round sunglasses on and flashes her a mischievous grin as he stops the car and says, "You coming or what? Slowpoke." She shakes her head and stuffs the bike into the back seat, climbing in without bothering to open the door.

"You're crazy," she exclaims. "Completely insane." He smirks and hands her an equally ridiculous pair of shades.

"But you couldn't live without me."

She laughs as he stomps on the gas and leaves a cloud of dust behind them. The wind blowing through her hair is a blessed relief from the stifling Arizona heat and she pops the glove box open to reveal the dozen or so tapes that they've collected, selecting one at random. She turns the radio all the way up as Kansas comes blasting through the aged speakers, and she and Leo sing along to every note, occasionally turning to each other or banging their heads. Piper stands up and spreads her arms, thrilled to be out of that damned grocery store, on the road again. They both are- Jason was always the one who liked staying in the same place. She sits back down and laughs at her reflection; the giant, neon purple sunglasses and her hair coming out of its haphazard braids, tan skin flush with the feeling of victory.

"Where's Jason?" She yells over the engine noise and radio now howling Van Halen.

Leo grimaces a bit and says, "I thought you knew where he was." Piper turns down the radio and stares at him.

"What?" He nods apologetically.

"Sorry, Pipes. But he can take care of himself, you know." Piper sinks into the seat.

"Yeah, I guess."

The thought doesn't stop her from worrying.

 

They stop in a small, dry field of grass to camp and roll up the top of the car after Leo's chained the bike to the back of it, resolving to sleep in the car today and search for Jason tomorrow. It's a tight fit, but better than risking instant death via a horde. They've both put what little personal belongings they have and the supplies in the trunk, and they listen to indie music until Leo decides not to waste the car battery and turns it off. Piper can hear Leo snoring softly and stares at the ceiling until she falls into an uneasy sleep.

Her dreams start at the beginning of the end.

She was an infant when the epidemic- if it can be called that- started; when those long-dead and newly deceased alike rose from the grave and started raiding towns. It began in New York- those who were buried in Manhattan began to escape from their coffins- and, in six years, had infected the entire country. A corporation was created to stop it; a league of the greatest scientists, generals, and strategists the world could offer- Olympus Incorporated. It was the typical hush-hush government organization that dealt in secrets and shadows, but no one complained so long as they could find a solution to the “Arisen”, as the zombies had come to be known.

When Piper was fifteen and Olympus, Inc. still hadn’t invented a cure, her zillionaire dad sent her to a boarding school in Nevada. As much as she begged him not to send her, he insisted it was for her own good. He seemed extra paranoid, as if something then was different than it had been the past fifteen years. He disappeared three months later. Then the world had really gone to hell, with the Arisen taking over all but a few, isolated nations and the only major congress left being Olympus, Inc.

Piper, Leo, and Jason had been inseparable the entire school year, and Piper had finally gotten Jason to kiss her before he was plucked from school and came back a week later, asleep on the school bus with no memory of Piper and Leo and a “nagging feeling” that he wasn’t supposed to be there.

Then, they’d gotten attacked on the same field trip by a rogue horde, only to be rescued by a mysterious, angry, blonde girl looking for her boyfriend, Percy Jackson- Annabeth Chase. She came from a secret facility called Camp Half-Blood- a training camp for “successful patients” of a mystery cure that Olympus had come up with on the down-low. She told Piper, Leo, and Jason about the cure, and that their parents who’d been absent their entire lives- Piper’s mom and Leo’s dad (Jason they couldn’t be sure about)- were part of the twelve-person head council. They’d both been furious, and even more so when they discovered that their parents had secretly tested them with the cure when they were babies. The only problem was this: the cure affected people differently, given them individualized, specific powers. Leo could control fire, Jason- weather, and Piper- well, she could talk people into doing anything. She even convinced a salesman to let her have a brand-new BMW to get her dad’s attention.

They’d discovered that Jason’s dad was the head of the Olympus council, and that his wife- who was not Jason’s mom, by the way- had been captured. Naturally, the council sent mutant children to find her, and it turned out she had been taken captive by Gaia, a competing corporation. Along the way, they’d found Jason’s sister and Piper’s dad, and they’d even released Jason’s stepmom. Somehow they’d ended up back in Nevada in their aid to the search for Percy. But during their travels, Jason had begun to remember things, like names.  
_Reyna. Dakota. Gwen. Octavian._

Now he was gone again, only this time, Piper and Leo might have a shot at finding him.

When she wakes up, the sun has just risen and she forces herself to get out of the car- Piper is not a morning person- and heat up some water. As much as she hates mornings, Leo is even worse, and they'll both definitely need coffee to drive soon.

She digs through the junk in the hatchback until she finds the (now slightly squished) granola bars she snagged from the store yesterday and pulls one out. She proceeds to munch on it as she pulls back the convertible's top to wake Leo, and he takes it as well as can be expected: he rolls over and curses loudly in Spanish. Piper rolls her eyes at him- she's spent enough time with him to know the gist of the expletives- and shoves a granola bar under his nose.

"I have food," she cajoles. He opens his eyes, suddenly hyper-aware, and snatches the snack from her without so much as a "Thank you."

She crosses her arms and goes back to the trunk, searching for the "dishes" they have- two Solo cups, one glass, a grease-stained roll of paper towels, and a family-sized box of plastic silverware. She grabs the cups and a spoon and peers at the water that's now boiling, dumps some coffee into the cups, and pours half of the water into each.

"And there's coffee," she yells to Leo. She's met with a careless wave in reply.

"Don't be a dick, Leo," she yells back. He climbs slowly out of the car and makes his way to her, mumbling "Thanks" as he takes the coffee from her. She sips hers, which is black and scalding and generally horrible, and puts everything back in the trunk.

"Let's go," she says. "I'll drive."

She climbs in and turns the radio on- she can't stay awake without music and coffee- and the indie pop they had on last night slowly wakes her up. Leo, on the other hand, is still spaced out, staring at the passing desert and grasping his coffee with both hands, occasionally taking a sip. The tape ends and Leo puts another in the stereo. The bass thumps and Kanye West starts rapping, and Piper sighs loudly and turns it down.

"Do you know where Jason was headed?"

Leo frowns thoughtfully before replying, "Somewhere west. He talked about getting to a camp of some sort."

Piper drapes her arm over the side of the car and scrunches her nose. "Camp? He never said anything like that to me."

Leo winces.

"Yeah...um, that'd be because it has to do with Reyna."

Piper stiffens slightly.

"I wish he had said something about it. I'm definitely madder about it now than I would be if he’d told me in the first place,” she replies after a long pause.

Leo is looking determinedly at the passing desert.

Piper takes it as an invitation and continues, “I don’t have anything against Reyna, it’s just…he thinks I’m always going to get mad if he wants to settle down or stop moving for a minute. Why does he keep tiptoeing around me?” Leo is looking at her in disbelief.

“What?”

He shakes his head and waggles his finger as if lecturing her.

“This is why I’m single,” he says. “Too much drama and worry.” Piper rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, whatever; we’re not a couple, Valdez,” she says, and waits a couple seconds for him to look at her skeptically before belting, _“Lonely, I’m Mr. Lonely, I have nobody of my own…”_ She drags out the last note as Leo punches her in the arm, and she laughs.

They go west for a couple hours until they have to stop to switch drivers, both stretching their legs and running around the car. Then they eat lunch as they drive some more- Piper’s been thinking about it, and she finally comes up with where Jason is going.

“Camp Jupiter!” she yells with a mouthful of cracker, snapping her fingers in triumph. Leo looks at her like she’s crazy.

“Dude, what?”

She finishes chewing and replies, “Jason must be going to Camp Jupiter- remember what we saw on that news bulletin a couple months ago?”

Without pausing to let him answer, she continues.

“Camp Jupiter is the safest place for remaining uninfected to go,” she quotes. “Reyna Arellano is the director of security there! That must be it!” The idea dawns on Leo’s face.

“That’s a way better destination than ‘west’,” he admits.

“It’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey,” Piper deadpans, and they keep driving, happy to have a light at the end of the tunnel.

Camp Jupiter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.  
> That was fun, right?  
> Formatting? What's that?
> 
> Oh, what have I gotten myself into?  
> Yeah...so regular updates are probably not gonna happen, but I'll try to write as much as possible and update ASAP. Big thanks to my little sister, my beta, for helping the gears to turn and providing snarky commentary while reading over my shoulder. See you guys...whenever I decide to post the next chapter!


	2. giving the academy a rain check

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason's POV! Yay!
> 
> Credit to Rick Riordan and Imagine Dragons.
> 
> Alternatively titled: In Which I Attempt To Keep Some Semblance Of Canon And Promptly Fail

Jason struggles to the gates of Camp Jupiter and the guard sees him, leveling her spear.

“Do I really look like a threat?” He asks weakly.

His legs are struggling to support him and his hand is clutching his side, blood seeping between his fingertips as he futilely attempts to keep the wound from worsening. Her cinnamon-colored hair is puffing out from under the ridiculous, too-large helmet, but she looks like she knows how to use that spear and would certainly outmatch Jason even if she didn’t. Her golden eyes narrow, analyzing him, but there’s concern there, too- she can see that he’s wounded.

“We can’t take Infected,” she says with a sad tinge to her voice- as if she’s seen too many people die because of this rule.

“Look,” he starts, and stops while the black spots leave his vision before continuing. “Just tell Reyna that Jason’s here. I have to see her. I know where Percy’s supposed to be.”

The girl’s eyes widen in recognition.

“You know Percy?” she asks incredulously. He tries to stop the world from spinning.

“Not personally,” he admits. “But I have news from Annabeth.” The girl stops briefly, then lets him in without another word. She whistles sharply, and Jason’s head throbs at the noise.

“Frank!” she yells, and Jason feels her arms under his to support him as he blacks out.

 

When Jason regains consciousness, he is staring at a ceiling of white mosaic tiles, and he tries to sit up before a sharp pain pierces his abdomen. He holds his hand gingerly over where the wound was and feels gauze beneath his fingers. Ignoring the darkness on the edge of his vision, Jason finishes sitting up and slowly swings his legs over the edge of the cot he’s sitting on. Shakily, he stands up and wobbles to the nearest window, through which light is streaming. He draws the curtains back and squints against the bright San Francisco light. When his eyes adjust, he sees a huge valley, full of barracks, soldiers running back and forth, and what look like ghosts drifting across the walkway. Beyond that, the valley dips and widens into a beautiful city, as picturesque as if it's leapt from a dream.

_Or...my dreams_ , Jason thinks, but before he can make sense of it all, someone yells behind him.

“He’s awake! He’s awake!”

Jason whips around and realizes his mistake when he falls on the ground. A girl with neon green eyes and dusty blonde hair pulled into a ponytail leans over him, face serious.

“Hello? Can you hear and see me?” she asks.

Jason manages to croak out a “Yes” and she smiles a bit.

“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?” she adds without seeming to expect a response. She hauls him back onto the cot, only bothering to be careful when he makes a noise of pain.

“Sorry,” she says, but doesn’t seem to mean it and bustles around the small square that’s been cordoned off around him. He watches her blearily and can’t help be reminded of Annabeth- they have the same no-nonsense manner and sharp, clear eyes.

“I’m Jess,” she says, still rushing around and adjusting machinery that Jason only now notices, wondering how he hadn’t heard the beeping and whirring.

“Where’s...Reyna?” he says hoarsely. He wonders how long he’s been out.

Jess shakes her head, lips pursed. “You really have a one-track mind, don’t you?”

He ignores her. “I have to talk to her,” he insists. “And Percy.” Annabeth had been adamant about this. This would only work with the cooperation of Camp Jupiter.

Jess looks at him skeptically and replies, “Reyna’s busy. Percy...who knows? That guy’s anywhere and everywhere. As for you...you’re Jason Grace, aren’t you? The famous, most loved praetor in New Roman history?”

The last part is said somewhat mockingly, which Jason doesn’t appreciate, and his patience is slowly being worn down by vague answers to his most important questions and assumptions.

“Look,” he says. “I lost my memory, okay? All of what you’re saying? I didn’t know that until about two weeks ago. I went on a crazy, dangerous quest to Omaha to save the wife of a very important executive, discovered I had a sister, almost got killed by a corporation that’s so corrupt, then got an amazing girlfriend without knowing who I really was. Then, I found out, and I felt horrible. Happy?”

He doesn’t mean to say that much, but words keep slipping out until he’s telling his life story to a stranger. Jess looks very much taken aback.

“Oh,” she says, not being able to say anything else.

“Sorry,” Jason replies. “Diarrhea of the mouth…”

Jess shakes her head in disbelief and replies, "I'll go get Reyna."

She leaves Jason alone with his thoughts- Jess' speech has confirmed some details which had been fuzzy. For instance, the whole "being praetor" thing. And the whole "dating Reyna" thing.

What was that saying? "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"?

Yikes.

When Jess returns, she holds the plastic sheeting aside and Reyna steps through.

She keeps her head high and her expression blank, but Jason can see that she's not okay. He's had a lot of practice telling what she's thinking, and he feels horribly guilty about several things all at once. He feels like a jerk for a) leading her on and b) for dating Piper, even though he hadn't known about Reyna and wasn't about to stop...whatever he and Piper had. Were they dating? Jason didn't know.

Reyna steps closer to the cot.

"You have news?" She says brusquely. No introductions or explanations. Just a question. Jason doesn't blame her.

"You know about Camp Half-Blood?"

Surprise flickers across her face before her expression becomes neutral again.

"I've heard of it," she admits. Jason cuts straight to the chase.

"They're coming," he says. "There's seven kids of the Council who have to...um..."

Reyna looks at him expectantly. "Yes?"

"...save the world," he finishes. He feels a little ridiculous saying it, but Reyna doesn't laugh. She nods briskly.

"And," Jason continues, "I have names. Percy is one of them."

Reyna stiffens. "Who gave you these orders?"

Jason winces and replies, "The Council."

Her expression hardens and she all but marches out, pausing at the doorway.

"Who are the others?" She asks.

"Me, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, and Annabeth Chase," Jason replies, struggling to remember the addendum to the message.

"But we need you and Nico diAngelo as well," he remembers. Reyna inclines her head curtly.

"You'll be out of the infirmary as soon as possible," she says. "Since he's Cured, he's not contagious," she adds to Jess, who'd looked furious about Jason's release. Upon hearing that he's Cured, though, her face lights up in curiosity and she rushes to inspect his vitals, all but attacking him with questions and labwork as Reyna leaves.

After what seems like forever in the infirmary, Jess lets him leave and he can actually stand up and walk without passing out. Something feels out of place, though.

No one's asked him how he got hurt. No one's verified his story or been suspicious of him, as far as Jason knows. And he still hasn't seen Percy.

He walks out of the infirmary shakily, squinting against the sunlight.

A shadow falls across Camp Jupiter, and Jason looks up to see the Argo above them- the stealth plane that his dad gave them that Leo had basically rebuilt from scratch for their mission. He hears the panicked yells of trainees and the synchronized footsteps of soldiers before Reyna's voice rings out through the loudspeakers.

"Do not be alarmed," she says, loudly but calmly. "They come in peace."

Jason jogs to the central green, ignoring the shakiness in his limbs, and stands a respectful distance away from Reyna and a guy with messy black hair who must be Percy.

Camp Half-Blood is here, he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay...
> 
> See you whenever I have time to write an entire new chapter! Right now, I'm in a production of Legally Blonde so that's gonna be hard. THEATRE INTENSIVES!!!
> 
> *dies*


End file.
